[sailon]

In looking at some older threads it appears JD used 80-90w oil in early gearboxes and Corn Head Grease in later ones. My S/N 597521 does not have a oil plug on my gearbox cover so I thought it would have grease but it has oil. In addition to the cork gasket on the cover there was a light amount of a white sealant all the way around. I am not the original owner so not sure if sealant was used originally or not. Anyone know the approx. serial number that they switched to grease? If anyone with a serial number close to mine has pulled the gearbox cover what did you find - grease or oil? Without a filler plug to check the level I am inclined to clean and refill with grease but if it originally had oil I would stay with oil. I have Operator's manual M89078 but it doesn't have any information about servicing the gearbox. If anyone has a service manual that covers the gearbox I would greatly a copy of a couple pages.

 

[pinmd]

Pack it full of corn head grease, you'll be fine. I packed mine three years ago after rebuilding it entirely, checked it a couple days ago and it looked fine. I added a little and put the cover back on.

 

[knottyrope]

2nd corn head grease

 

[bert]

When I opened-up my newly acquired 49's gearbox several years ago, (no plug) it was indeed over 3/4 full of oil, clean. no debris or crud accumulations or any evidence of rust or condensation inside gearbox. Furthermore, and much to my relief the gears didn't show any discernable wear either. Just closed everything back up and made a mental not of keeping a sharp eye out for the slightest evidence of leakage in future, three Manitoba winters since then without leaks or problems. I strongly advocate preventative maintenance but don't believe in fixing what isn't broken...

 

[mark]

i rebuilt my gaer box and used 00 cotton picker spindle graes as when i took mine apart all the original cornhead grease was on the outside of gears. have used about 20 hours with no problems